-Someone has leaked Labour manifesto to the press, lots of renationalization (one nationalized energy company per region seems an interesting idea), would keep Trident but has a section on why using it would be bad, repeal trade union laws, an excessive pay law, HS2 to Scotland, scrapping tuition fees and benefits sanctions, no immigration target, eliminate the current spending deficit on a forward-looking five year rolling timescale, oppose Heathrow expansion, reduce debt not by share of "trend" GDP (if anyone could explain that to me?), suspend fiscal rules during times of low interest rates, OBR oversight. Little in terms of the costings but that was a separate part of the preparation so nothing should be read into that, those that have read it mention it is policy filled but not a sense of theme and what bits are long term ambitions and what is priority.

Utterly shafts their policy a day plan and plays into Labour incompetence issue but gets more attention then a usual manifesto launch, some claiming Labour HQ did it to undermine Corbyn (who they really dislike), others that Corbyn side did it to blame Labour HQ (denied), some wondering if union liaison's leaked, some wondering if left leaked it to stop Corbyn being pressed to drop some of them by other sections of party, Corbyn's team trying to stop people engaging in witch hunt

-Lib Dems pledge 50,000 more Syrian refugees to be taken in

-Panelbase gives 17 point lead

-Greens offered 25k to stand aside in Richmond, Greens say they rejected the offer and it came in after they had already decided to stand aside

-Rumours Hammond and May rowing over manifesto with May's team unhappy Hammond committed her to not ruling out tax rises

-Sir Fallon calls Corbyn essentially a pacifist

-Corbyn pulls out of poster launch after leak. Poster reads "The Tories have held back Britain long enough"

-European Commission predicts UK growth of 1.8% this year which is up from 1.5%, Industrial production shrank by 0.5% in March, trade gap widens £4.9bn as our imports from EU jump by £2.9bn, interest rates held but bank of England cuts growth by 0.1% to 1.9%, warns it expects to act quicker then market expects on interest rates

-Tories pledge to keep Nato target

-Plaid claim Welsh Labour have blocked or scrapped some of the idea's in Labour manifesto

-Some Labour sources saying manifesto is what Ed Miliband would have done if he had been bold enough to go with his convictions

-Hillsborough campaigns not happy Nuttall talked of a confidential meeting to TV

-Nuttall says Islam is not a death cult, he won't resign even if they get no MP's

-Scottish Greens won't back any other party in seats they aren't running in

-Corbyn's car runs over leg of BBC cameraman and the Labour manifesto meeting was in same building as a convention for divorce lawyers

-UKIP demands fish caught by foreign vessels (under a time limited license) in British waters should be landed, processed and sold in the UK to help rebuild its fishing industry. Demands scrapping the EU common fisheries policy (CFP) in its entirety, plus enforcing a 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with fishing being a Brexit redline

-Farron says Tory landslide would see Wales taken for granted

-Carney says consumer spending will take a sort term hit, future depends on form of Brexit and how everything and everyone reacts, expects wages to rise but this year will fall and warns households face a challenging time, productivity is still poor here, trade growth has been surprisingly modest given fall of £, China is a medium term risk to global economy, inflation being higher in exchange for creating jobs is a trade off he is happy with.

-Corbyn apparently in a good move after manifesto meeting, seemed to go well and clearly pleased with manifesto

====

-Simon Danczuk is being investigated over a rape allegation.

-Woman's Equality Party wants free childcare

-Dame Beckett when asked if she leaked manifesto "don't be ridiculous, I haven't seen the bloody thing."

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-Greens stand down in Hastings and Rye after agreement with Peter Chowney of Labour to try to unseat Rudd, Chester and in Eltham with the latter due to Clive Efford's views on Brexit

-SNP contemplating upping top rate of tax to 50p in the pound but have promised this before

-Sturgeon demands May apologize for smear in accusing SNP of having been fined by Electoral Commission. Does no apology herself

-May admits Tories haven't kept all promises to armed forces, keeps dodging around raising tax, says Labour has deserted the working class and leaves them appalled

-Corbyn says he is not a pacifist and military action can be needed as a last resort, will bring an independent foreign policy that doesn't hold Trump's hand, an end to bomb first policy, praises China work on North Korea, wouldn't talk to Isis, supports the reunification of Cyprus, slams Trump's attitude on climate change and Iran deal, backed sending troops to East Timor and Cyprus (that is the way to go I think, backing WW2 is a "everyone bloody backs that" but showing modern times where he backed sending armed soldiers contradicts claim he is a pacifist), his views formed by Vietnam and parents experience of war, would review airstrikes policy. However Corbyn being Corbyn, he proceeds to undermine his effort to sell his foreign policy view by hinting Trident would up for review

-Comres polling on Labour pledges: 52% in favour of renationlizing the railways, 49% on energy reforms, 50% backed re-nationalisation of the Royal Mail 71% for banning zero hour contracts, 65% agree with raising income tax for those earning 89k a year. They also polled about Corbyn with 56% saying he would be a "disaster" as prime minister and Tories win realistic policies polling with 51%.

-Women candidates drop with Labour down to 41%, SNP on 33% (down from 35.7%) Lib Dems on 30% and Tories on 29% (up from 21%). Lib Dems and Tories are up but that is not worth celebrating

-Corbynists and McCluskey sources try to blame Tom Watson for leak until someone pointed out Watson hadn't seen the full version of the manifesto.

-Bariner warns Ireland in speech to it's Dali that custom controls with UK is inevitable but resolving the Ireland issue is a major priority. Ian Paisley accuses him of interfering in the N.Ireland election

-Boris accuses Corbyn of campaigning to weaken UK defences, Sir Fallon says Corbyn would be too shambolic and weak to stand up against our enemies

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-Tom Watson fears a Thatcher era landslide if polls don't change, says manifesto s exciting and urges people not to ditch good MP's

-May says there will be Brexit trade-offs, says she remembers British Rail and doesn't want to go back to that

-Tories considering plan to allow young people to get embarrassing social media stuff deleted

-Lib Dems to extend parental leave to a month

-Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan says open border is a must

-NHS computer systems down after attack in England and Scotland

====

-Blair warns hard Irish border would be a disaster but there is a common desire to prevent that

-Woman Equality Party launches manifesto with three months parental leave and 40 hours free child care a week, tackling violence against women with better funding for specialist services, improving funding for social care and a right to paid leave for carers.Says happy for parties to steal their policies, have picked their seats to avoid lowering amount of females in parliament and trying to ensure they don't knock out a BME female MP

-Someone has put a 10k bet on Corbyn winning the election. Real worry for whoever did that, hope they really don't need that money

-Kate Hoey getting a lot of stick for failed attempt to airbrush Lib Dem candidate George Turner out of photo (she forget to airbrush out his legs)

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-Lib Dems would offer 10k cash incentive to engineering and technology graduates who sign up for the armed forces

-BBC put Greens on election equivalence of UKIP so been invited to election questions

-Sir Fallon fails to give example of UK military action he hasn't backed, seems to be trying to claim Thornberry has questioned Falklands status when she didn't

-Long-Bailey's "wait till the manifesto" is a poor stance to take at this point, particularly on stuff Labour have actually confirmed anyway and she struggled badly on SDP as did Brandon Lewis on housing

-May urges N.Ireland politicians to come together (calling a general election helps with that?)

-John Ashworth demands government release risk register of NHS

-Heavy rumours Angela Rayner did not want tuition fees scrapped and the money used for early education but lost battle with McDonnell

-Sturgeon says Scotland should have say on independence when Brexit terms come clear, might not rejoin EU but rejoin European free trade area

-David Davis says will be summer row on Brexit talks timetable, rules out being under ECJ

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-May promises to keep EU protections for workers, up the national living wage (though if it will match Labour's is unclear), offer a statutory two weeks’ leave for bereaved parents, and initiate 12-month unpaid (so not one most can afford) sabbaticals for those needing to care for relatives, pension protection, rights for gig economy workers, some sort of workers on stage less then the actual company board, companies forced to publish on racial pay gaps. Rules out votes for 16 year olds, hints at extra NHS funding, TV debates would be unhelpful to voters, fake news have been a problem this election campaign including some nasty ones about her during leadership campaign

-Labour promise extra £37 billion for NHS, paid for by the 80k tax band, and to reduce waiting lists

-Opnium gives 15 point lead, ORB 14 with Labour's 32% their highest in their last six months, Comres and Youguv 18, ICM 20 with the latter seeing economy and NHS as the big two issues of the election, May best on economy, foreign affairs, Brexit talks, education (just), immigration whereas Corbyn just about best on NHS, public services, making Britain fairer

-Tory's social housing plan would be paid from existing budgets which has raised a lot of eyebrows

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-May getting an angry voter confrontation on benefits cut has done the rounds, concerns that May got mental disability and learning difficulties mixed up

-Clive Lewis backs progressive alliance and tactical voting

-Plaid vow to give Wales a strong voice in Brexit, all future trade deals should be signed off by the National Assembly for Wales, want tax discounts for businesses in Wales, abolishing business rates and replacing it with a turnover based system, publicly owned bank, demands EU funding be replaced by Westminster, £7.5bn infrastructure plan

-Labour announce their water nationalization plans with nine new public bodies but McDonnell admits they aren't sure of the cost yet, 30 hours free childcare for 2-4 year olds, employers charged a 2.5% levy on earnings above £330,000 and 5% on those above £500,00, new tax rates of 45p tax rate at £80k, and 50p rate at £123k, increase spending by £48.6bn a year and meet it with 48.6bn taxes, replace council tax with land value tax. Labour's manifesto is third longest since 1979

Labour has chaos in manifesto launch as Corbyn seems to get benefit freeze and cap muddled, seems to announce new policy of ending benefit freeze and rest of day spent trying to sort out what the policy actually is. On the flipside, from what I hear those activists invited to manifesto launch really loved it and felt inspired. Feels like that sums up Corbyn. Meawhile Labour audience at manifesto launch boo journalist asking about Labour's stance on immigration. Corbyn to be fair tried to stop this, also booing when asked about his personal unpopularity. There are cheers when Morning Star asked about "shockingly biased media". Other parties see Caroline Lucas says Labour manifesto takes a lot of Green ideas, Tories say they have found 9 unfunded pledges in Labour manifesto (some of those 9 are questionable)

-Survation gives 17 lead

-Lib Dems would offer £100 a week allowance for six months for entrepreneurs

-Inflation higher then expected at 2.7% (wages rose 2.3% with bonuses so slight problem there) with cost of airfares/clothing/electricity/vehicle duty hitting, core inflation at 2.4% it's highest since March 2013, FTSE100 hits another record high, weakest houseprice growth (4.1%) since October 2013, Vodafone not leaving UK

-UKIP have 12% women candidates, they have more candidates called David, Michael and John combined then females. Greens have 37% female candidates and non-binary and transgender candidates.

-Sturgeon says Common Fisheries Policy is not fit for purpose

-Leanne Wood took drugs as student, is an atheist, been a lot of misogynistic abuse on twitter in her experience, willing to enter coalition against Tories, feels she doesn't know May or the real May

- Radio 4’s Today programme the morning after the general election will be presented by men only. Fair to say this has not gone well with all staff

-McDonnell seems to struggle on what the deficit is (something seems up, about 5 major figures including Lib Dem and Tories have flubbed the figures). Nick Robinson has withdrawn accusation McDonnell was passed a note but he needs to do it in a more public setting

-IFS says Labour's minim wage policy is gambling on employment, richest graduates will benefit from tuition fee scraps, tax as proportion of GDP would be the highest level for 70 years and spending highest since pre-crises levels in 1980's. IFS says chances of Labour raising the amount they want through tax is very small and might just get half of the £50 million, isn't sure highest bracket will work. Judging by spending, say Labour's priorities are “offered big increases for schools, infrastructure, childcare and tuition fees but much less for the NHS or reversing benefit cuts”.

-Dugdale challenges SNP to nationalize railways in Scotland but as I understand it, Humza Yousaf is preparing to a public sector bid

-Government has sold our last stake in Lloyds

-Sir Soames using horse to canvass

-Plaid's Adam Price came across well in DP

-McCluskey sees success as hanging onto 200 seats (would be worst Labour result since 1935), would be extraordinary if Labour won, blames media attacks on Corbyn (becuase every Labour leader since 1935 has had press behind him?)

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-Claire Bassett, chief executive of the Electoral Commission, warns they are powerless to stop foreign powers influencing via social media but there hasn't been any real attempt to do that so far. Will seek to apply election literature rules to social media

-Hammond refuses to deny he has rowed with May's aides over tax policy nor denies there was mutual swearing, says wage squeeze won't last and promises a timetable for ending deficit

-Britain’s unemployment rate has hit its lowest level since 1975 at 4.6% but wages don't keep up with inflation: average weekly earnings increased by 2.1% in the quarter (inflation of 2.3, 2.3, 2.7 in the three months), real wages falling at fastest rate in 3 years. London has highest unemployment for first time since 2012

-Lib Dem manifesto launch: promising to restore housing benefit for 18-21 year olds, a rent-to-own scheme, discounted bus pass, Housing and Infrastructure Development Bank, extend free school meals to all primary schools and triple funding for the early years pupil premium, believes legalising cannabis would raise a billion in tax and pledging to spend more then double Labour on welfare.

-SNP says they have already done a lot of things Labour are pledging

-Greens promise free sanitary products for the poor

-Tory manifesto tomorrow

-Tories would scrap the Severn Bridge tolls, Welsh parties point out they have been pushing this for ages

-ECJ rules that all national parliaments must approve an EU trade deal with Singapore which makes it likely ours would have to go through same process

-McCluskey now trying to declare he is optimistic of victory due to manifesto getting such a positive response and his 200 seats quote was taken out of context, based on "if polls are to be believed"

-May refuses to promise Hammond will stay as Chancellor but in the end does give some endorsement and no feeling among press she will move him, May praises relationship with US but avoids praising Trump, promises manifesto will set out the great challenges ahead, she (and Hammond) refuse to rule out tax rises, denies Brexit has led to slump in Sterling

-Boris goes to Sikh temple, promises free trade with India will end tariffs on whiskey. It caused a lot of offence and Boris has apologized

-Dugdale threatens to discipline their Aberdeen councillors if they enter into agreement with Tories and independents unless the Labour group get better deal

-IFS says Lib Dems would borrow more then government, less tax rises then Labour but sums add up and tax rises more likely to succeed, makes Labour welfare plans look modest

-Sturgeon predicts Labour civil war after election

-SDLP accuse DUP and Sinn Feinn of punishing N.Ireland by refusal to powershare and being too competitive to point of razed earth policy

-Information Commissioner looking at how political parties use social media to contact voters and reminds all sides of data rules apply

=====

-Rosettes Direct asks for more warning next time so they can get rosettes ready

-The Evening Standard editorial argues against the 10,000 immigration target, claiming May is the only senior member of the cabinet to back it, also don't invite UKIP to hustings.

-Farage says any attempt to block Brexit would lead to armed rising and he would join it. Apparently a figure of speech but one I was one aware of. Also says Standard editorial show Cameron and co were never serious about immigration pledge (in fairness, Osborne was known as not being keen on it)

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

-May decides Burnham's social care plans are no longer a death tax but should be used by Tories (Burnham denies they are similar and he is right somewhat but it is being seen as such) and drop plans to cap care costs but raise the amount of money one can keep to 100, no need to pay till after death of person and their partner. Tory press are not pleased and will revolt later but May is too strong for them to attack now. Sir Andrew Dilnot who reviewed social care for Cameron is unhappy as he feels it misses central problem (one can't protect oneself from the illnesses that require social care) and will make people worse off, a sense he is very very angry. Some arguing it is a massive stealth tax and a lot of groups unhappy

-Youguv gives 13 lead but Corbyn is 46 points behind May on leadership with only May in plus approval ratings of UK leaders, Ipsi Mori gives 15 lead, a sense Labour are closing somewhat in polls (still large gap and polls always narrow, is it more then that?)

-Tory policy: Winter fuel payments will be means-tested, pensions triple lock will be downgraded to double lock, charges for firms employing foreign workers+overseas visitors using the NHS will be increased (2k per foreign worker). Free breakfasts for all primary pupils but free lunches will be scrapped to pay for it, trains ombudsmen, tax lox dropped, fixed term parliament act will be repealed, scrap part 2 of Leveson, must show ID to vote, half a million homes on top of million promised by 2020, won't raise VAT, introduce an independent public advocate to act for bereaved families after a disaster.", end deficit by 2025, no Brexit deal better then bad deal, Channel 4 relocated out of London, contributions to EU structural funds will go to a new Shared Prosperity Fund. 100 independent school led academies or free schools, will legislate to change stop and search if search to arrest rates don't change, remove planning permission required for undertaking exploratory shale drilling, new shale regulator, onshore wind to get no help in England but help in Scotland, minimum of £8bn in real terms over the next five years for NHS though nobody is sure if on top of or including promised sums by Osborne. Universities wanting top rate of tuition tees must sponsor a school, major review of funding across tertiary education to improve access, something about "forgiving" student loans for those who become teachers, toughening up the school curriculum, “sustainable business model for high-quality media online”, levy on social media companies to fund awareness and “preventative activity”, action on social media data gathering, repeal article 40. Little on climate change and air pollution apparently, investing £600m by 2020 so “almost every car and van” will be zero-emissions by 2050, review honour's system, remain in ECHR, says nothing on rail fares, commits to Heathrow and HS2, grammar schools remain, a "Borderland" city deal, merge Serious Fraud Office with the National Crime Agency

McDonnell and Corbyn says May has abandoned the elderly and Tories have 60 (the number is questionable) unfunded spending commitments, Nuttall calls it just like Labour which is only true if you have been paying no attention then once UKIP get their act together says biggest tax raid on pensioners ever.

-Welsh Labour, Welsh Tories and Plaid suspend campaigning after death of former Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan. A councillor and headed European Commission's Office in Wales, MP for Cardiff West from 1987, chaired Public Select Committee, till Assembly created in 99. Attempted twice to become First Minister before managing in February 2000, kept distance from Blair's government and provided stabilizing figure till he retired in 2009. Regarded as an intelligent figure with a lovely turn of phrase and a giant in Welsh politics

-Retail sales rocket to 2.3%, some recovery was expected due to weather and Easter but far more then expected

-UKIP would repeal the Climate Change Act and withdraw from the Paris climate accord, remove VAT from domestic fuel, end subsidies for renewable technologies

-SNP fear to hit immigration target would require SNP to have 10,000 migrants a year only, Sadiq Khan calls it anti-Lodon

-Tory manifesto makes big arguments for state intervention in it's forward. The five big challenges it sees:

1) Creating a strong economy

2 Brexit and a changing world

3 Tackling enduring social divisions.

4 Dealing with an ageing society

5 Dealing with fast-changing technology

and an interesting passage setting out philosophy (put it in spoilers for those that want to miss it)

Because Conservatism is not and never has been the philosophy described by caricaturists. We do not believe in untrammelled free markets. We reject the cult of selfish individualism. We abhor social division, injustice, unfairness and inequality. We see rigid dogma and ideology not just as needless but dangerous. True Conservatism means a commitment to country and community; a belief not just in society but in the good that government can do; a respect for the local and national institutions that bind us together; an insight that change is inevitable and change can be good, but that change should be shaped, through strong leadership and clear principles, for the common good.

We know that our responsibility to one another is greater than the rights we hold as individuals. We know that we all have obligations to one another, because that is what community and nation demands. We understand that nobody, however powerful, has succeeded alone and that we all therefore have a debt to others. We respect the fact that society is a contract between the generations: a partnership between those who are living, those who have lived before us, and those who are yet to be born.

-IFS says Labour and Tories have similar spending on NHS and Labour's NHS spending is surprisingly modest, Tories won't require much extra tax as proposals are quite modest, downgrading pensions won't hurt or help pensioners, treasury or the wider issue, school spending is a real term cut, will be doing major manifesto event on Tuesday.

-May denies there is such a thing as Mayisim

-Cabinet is boycotting Sky News, apparently over Sky News speculating about May's health (when she called a sudden media conference) and reading out a message Fiona Hill sent, also for stories that Boris was being sidelined. 1 and 2 I have sympathy for, 3 is something May's team should suck up

-Tories manifesto their second largest since 1979. The speculation it would be empty and full of slogans has certainly been wrong...

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-Tories should have allowed Raab to see full manifesto before sending him on DP

-Ahir Shah joke "To get your general election name replace your first name with "oh god" and your second name with "make it stop""

-Fraser Nelson jokes Edstone has been reincarnated as a Tory manifesto

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

Decently hosted by Julie Etchingham, mentioned Corbyn and May refused to come a few times without overdoing it, reminded people areas that were devolved, did seem to struggle to get people to keep to time limit and had problems in Nuttall would get attacked then not given chance to really respond and at times Nuttall was getting picked on. In terms of those who missed it, Corbyn (Labour sent Andrew Gwynne and David Prescott) wasn't mentioned too much but didn't get a chance to set out his stances, he was kind of forgotten but had he gone he might have been attacked as the big beast. I suspect May might regret it as lots of attacks, some of questionable accuracy, on Tory record and motives that play into heartless Tories without any challenge or counter.

Caroline Lucas (seen as non-Sturgeon winner) was passionate, articulate, didn't overdo environment but she tended to flag in the second half of each hour and had real trouble, despite speaking really quickly, keeping her points within the time limit. Tim Farron tried his little personal stories and things journalists will have heard before but he struggled to make it sound natural, it felt forced as he seemed to struggle to find the rhythm, every answer seemed to involve reversing Brexit. Some good passionate moments including need to raise tax for NHS but one can see why he hasn't cut through and why his tactics are struggling. Leanne Wood was not the best deliverer of speeches but she had policies, sold Wales well, debated well and had a solid display. Nuttall calling Leanne Wood Natalie twice was careless, his delivery was awful and in first hour his blaming everything on immigration became a laughing point, better when he moved off that. Showed humour despite constantly being interrupted and mocked by rivals which he didn't copy but that may backfire on the others as there are a lot of people who feel the same as UKIP and dislike being mocked for their values. Sturgeon was simply a cut above the rest, strong delivery, at ease, able to go "not got everything right" to show humble side but knowing nobody would press her on it, sold SNP achievements and values, gave a strong pro-immigration argument, said little about independence.

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-Sir Fallon says he doesn't know when migrant cap will be reached, admits it isn't costed and is more an ambition then a promise

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”

“You, are a rebellious son who abandoned his father. You are a cruel brigand who murdered his lord. How can Heaven and Earth put up with you for long? And unless you die soon, how can you face the sight of men?”